White Picket Fence
by strawberrycyanide
Summary: Whilst everyone around her seems to be shacking up and popping out babies, Ginny finds herself left sitting on the shelf; will she find her picket fence and eight carat ring? Or is she doomed to become a cat-throwing spinster? GWSB


_I haven't touched fanfiction in a while- let me know what you think :)_

Sirius' finger slid absently around the rim of his wine glass. A hollow ring filled the room. Remus grimaced and looked up from his paper. The ringing ceased.

Remus continued with his reading. The Ministry… again.

The ringing began again.

Remus glared at Sirius. Sirius smiled sheepishly and distracted himself with some scattered letters left discarded on the kitchen table. Remus ignored him; Fudge, cocking things up once again…

That blasted ringing!

'Enough!' Remus shouted, a little louder than he intended.

Sirius started.

'What do you want?' Remus barked.

Sirius shrugged and said nothing.

Remus glowered at him and returned to his paper, just about to find his spot in the article until-

'Thirty-five,' Sirius muttered.

'Thirty-five what?' Remus sighed, giving up on Fudge and his infernally bamboozled ministry.

'How did I get to be thirty-five?' Sirius moaned.

Remus glared and cleared his throat, loudly. Although in the same year at school, he now surpassed Sirius in age. Whilst Sirius, presumed dead behind the veil before tumbling back through one day completely unannounced and catching that poor Unspeakable in training completely by surprise (somehow, despite years being studied by the masters, one shy little girl in training had managed to crack the veil completely by mistake- the irony was not missed); those around him had continued on, living, loving, aging. Sirius however, seemed to have existed in a world that aged in quite the… opposite way. For every year he spent trapped inside the veil, he had lost a year in age. True, the veil would have killed him as they supposed it did to begin with- eventually. At least he wasn't trapped inside long enough to revert to the fetal position or a twinkle in his father's eye.

Sirius smiled, again, considerably more sheepish, 'Sorry Moony… a moment of carelessness…'

'Indeed,' Remus replied with a small smile. Whilst Sirius' face was still relatively unlined, his hair still black and body still fit and youthful, Remus had sagged considerably in his years on the outside world. Sagged, not in the sense that old men usually do, losing their jaw, their waist… But he had an air of fatigue, his hair now completely grey, his face lined, though probably he was only fifty or there abouts. And he _felt _like an old man.

'What will I do with myself!' Sirius bemoaned suddenly.

Remus again, sighed louder and tossed his paper onto the table.

'Really, I mean it!' Sirius replied indignantly. 'At what point, Moony, did you go from thinking yourself invincible, walking into a bar and feeling as though you could have any woman in there-,'

'The moment I married Nymphadora,' Remus replied dryly.

'That's not what I meant!'

'Well, really Padfoot! What do you want me to say? Have I ever been as skilled as yourself in luring in the ladies? No. Do I wish I had been? Not really. Do I miss it at all? Can't say I do, I have to admit. Nymphadora and I are coming up to, oh… six years now? I think my days of wild debauchery are over- if they had even existed.'

Sirius smiled.

'Some day,' Remus muttered, 'you're just going to have to accept that you're not young any more, and maybe start to settle down.'

Sirius snorted. As if.

Ginny sighed as Hermione levered herself into a seating position. At seven and a half months pregnant, the transition between sitting and standing was proving more of a challenge every day. Ginny tossed aside the book she had been flipping through "Bewitch Him With Your Witchiness" (a cheap romance self help book her mother had thrust upon her the other week- Ginny grimaced at the thought and wondered why she had even agreed to read such trash) with frustration. It just wasn't working for her.

Hermione smiled, 'Bridget Jones moment?' she inquired.

'Bridget who?' Ginny replied slurping her cup of tea.

'It'll happen when it happens, Gin-,'

'Easy for you to say!' Ginny replied caustically eyeing Hermione's protruding belly with frustration. She loved Hermione, she really did- and she was happy- excited even, for her and Ron; but there came a point where her goodwill was taken over by jealousy and the faintest glimmer of resentment. Where was her baby?! Where was her doting husband?

She stopped herself. She wondered it Ron could be considered a doting husband? If doting translated in real life to better-off-medicated paranoia, then yes, she supposed so. She smirked remembering his list of 'banned' activities for Hermione- including the obvious choices of "worrying" and "running" and then the _not so obvious_ inclusions of "over zealous bathing" and "strenuous knitting". Ginny wondered on what he was planning on adding to the list when the child was actually born.

'I just don't understand!' Ginny blurted.

'Understand what?' Hermions replied, taking a long sip of her tea.

'What's wrong with me exactly!' Ginny replied. 'I just don't understand why _I _can't have all this-,' she gestured around her. 'What is it about me exactly that causes men- _real _men- to run like I have the plague-,'

'Oh, really Ginny! It's not that bad-,'

'Not that bad?' Ginny replied, 'The last date I had, Hermione, was with a man who was suspiciously _half goblin_. When did it get to the point where I couldn't even find a date _amongst my own species?_ You're married, Tonks is married, all my brothers, Harry, even bloody _Pansy Parkinson _is married! Why not me? I'm not ridiculously disfigured, I have four working limbs, I have a job, a flat, I like to think I'm a relatively normal person- why is it that everyone around me is shacking up and procreating like mad and I'm left sitting at home on a Friday night clipping my toenails?'

'I didn't go out last Friday night,' Hermione pointed out, 'I seem to remember a quiet evening at home spent exfoliating-,'

'Enough!' Ginny replied. 'Enough of the smug couple talk!'

'What "smug couple talk"?' Hermione replied, shocked.

'Every time I see you,' Ginny raged, 'all I hear is "Oh I'm pregnant! Look at me everyone! Look how pregnant I am! Let me just blind you with my engagement ring! I'm the size of a house! That must mean I'm ridiculously pregnant!" We get it, Hermione! You and Ron are a happy couple- you have a perfect house, and are soon to have a perfect baby, a white picket fence! Well some of us aren't so lucky!'

'Ginny,' Hermione said soothingly. 'You can't possibly be mad at me for getting pregnant are you? I assure you, the last thought on Ron and my minds when we were… getting pregnant… was you-,'

'Oh of course it wasn't,' Ginny snapped. 'No one ever thinks about me.'

Hermione snorted. 'Are you telling me you'd rather have friends who actually did think about you whilst they shagged every evening?'

Ginny glanced at Hermione, stunned, and suddenly aware of her slip, 'Well…' she muttered, 'I suppose that would be a bit weird-,'

'Exactly,' Hermione replied. 'And did you really think that once I did get pregnant that we would keep it a secret until one day I popped out a baby and shouted 'Surprise!''

Ginny sighed, 'No. I guess not. Sorry Hermione. I know I'm being a bit of a nightmare. You should ask Ron to add "engaging in conversation with psychotic sisters-in-law" to the list.'

Hermione snorted. 'Oh Merlin. I'm trying to do everything I can to not encourage him.'

Ginny snorted. 'He's that bad, is he?'

'He told me off for rolling over in bed too fast last night. If it was up to him, I'd be wrapped in cotton wool. Forget any sex life I once had, I'm not getting laid again until this baby's gone off to school!'

Ginny snorted.

'But seriously, Ginny,' Hermione continued. 'I am sorry if you've been feeling a bit neglected lately-,'

'No, no,' Ginny protested. 'You're almost ready to pop Hermione! No one would blame you-,'

'I know how hard it's been for you. But it'll happen when it happens,' she squeezed Ginny's hand. 'All you can do is wait.'

'I'm so tired of waiting!' Ginny replied. 'How much longer? I'm going to die a crazy cat lady before anyone will even remember how long I've been waiting for Mr. Right.'

Later that evening, Hermione protesting overly sensitive nipples or death defying stretch marks or some other ridiculous ailment pregnant women claimed to avoid social occasions, Ginny made her lonesome way over to 12 Grimmauld Place for some kind of get together with Harry- he'd been skint on the details muttering something about work friends and fire whiskey- she hadn't minded though. It had been a while since she'd seen Harry. They'd all trained as aurors, funnily enough. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry- and had all been accepted to the academic based on their war merit. Whereas Harry had been promoted through the ranks with ease (or perhaps with fame), Ginny had made her own way over towards becoming a combat specialist- which seemed, in her opinion, to involve long hours firing hexes at magically charmed wax dummies and detailing the results with a couple of research colleagues. She'd proved herself useful on numerous missions, though hadn't seemed to have the drive to struggle for promotions with her teammates.

She entered the living to find the music blaring, people scattered about the place, mingling freely and the smell of fire whiskey in the air. She smiled, it was not an unusual occurrence for any Grimmauld Place get together- already she spotted Sirius sweet talking some brunette (who, she noted, looked far younger than he did- but then, wasn't that always his way?). She made her way across to Harry and his group of friends, placing a peck on his cheek and greeting the others.

'Where's Marissa?' Ginny asked of Harry's wife, who was probably at home caring for their two year old son Bruno.

Harry smiled, 'I offered her a baby sitter but she's not really one for parties,' he shrugged. 'These kinds of parties anyway.'

'And yet she's ok with you coming?' Ginny joked. 'It's ok for singles like me, but you- you're married now!'

Harry shoved her good naturedly, 'Don't think I miss the single life style, Gin,' he replied, she noticed he was already slightly tipsy. 'Whilst the fast broomsticks and faster women are good for a while, nothing beats the love of a good woman,' he grinned. 'She trusts me, I trust her- what is there to worry about?'

Ginny smiled, the alcohol causing Harry to miss the slight sadness in her smile. She moved away to speak to some friends from work. Ginny's work friends were a rough and tumble bunch- something had to be said for a woman in the Auror department. Her work friends were mostly male, either married with pleasantly ignorant wives or ridiculously promiscuous in the extreme. It never bothered her though, work was work. Every now and then she thought herself attracted to some of those broad shouldered, ruddy faced colleagues, but quickly caught herself before she ever got to the stage of mentioning it- no matter how desperate she was. She'd made a rule when she first started out that she wouldn't be dating anyone from her department- no matter how desperate she got.

The night wore on, the liquor flowed freely. Ginny found herself having a good time, drunk and raucous with her friends at work. Some time later, she found herself languidly sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of fire whiskey in front of her as the party wore down and people had began to leave. She stretched. It had been a good night.

Sirius crashed in from the other room and collapsed in the chair opposite her, 'Ginny!' he announced in that typically delighted drunken fashion.

'Where have you been?' Ginny said with a wink.

'I wish!' Sirius replied taking a shot from the bottle.

'But what about that brunette I saw you talking to before- that looked promising.'

'No deal, I'm afraid,' Sirius replied with a lop sided smile. 'She was still pining over her last boyfriend it turns out. Not my style.'

'Who are you kidding?' Ginny snorted. 'Everyone and everything's your style!'

Sirius laughed out loud, 'Give me some credit!' he protested. 'I do have standards you know! Just because I'm not some virginal youngster-,' he winked at her-, 'Doesn't mean I'd shag just anything!'

Ginny laughed, 'And are you insinuating exactly? That I'm this virginal youngster you're talking about?'

'Come on, Gin! Don't kid yourself!' Sirius replied with another laugh. 'You're practically a nun! When was the last time you went out and had some fun?'

'Um, tonight?' Ginny replied.

Sirius nodded, 'Ok, ok point taken. But whatever happened to your white wedding and whatever-carat engagement ring you girls usually dream about?'

Ginny sighed with a smile, 'Who knows?' She shrugged. 'Out there somewhere.'

She stood. 'You don't mind if I crash here do you?' she asked. 'I'm afraid I might leave my legs behind if I try apparating home.'

'Be my guest,' Sirius said. 'You know you're always welcome here.'

He stood too.

Something happened in the way they both headed to the door at the same time that suddenly meant they were very close together. The room around them stood still, the clock on the wall, usually so loud with it's _tick tick tick_, was suddenly silent. Ginny looked up into those handsome grey eyes and found herself floating for a moment, just a moment, lost in their depths.

Sirius' mouth came down upon hers.


End file.
